LILITH’S FALL

Feature Writer: capn_doggy /
Feature Title: Lilith’s Fall /
Story Codes: Male to Futa, Futa on Female, Femdom, Transgender, Transformation, Fantasy, Domination, Submission, Mind Control, MtH /
Synopsis: Mute slave working for a dominant woman is transformed /

Author’s Note: We find ourselves at the end of another pseudo cliffhanger. I don’t really have any concrete plans on continuing this tale unless the reception and response is significant enough. To that end, let me know what you thought of the story below. Whether you liked/disliked it, any specific parts you enjoyed, or even if I should abandon new works in favor of old ones. Any and all feedback is welcome. As always, thanks for reading and I hope you’re having a nice day

 

Lilith’s Fall

We stood in rows, like soldiers at attention facing their general, although we were naked instead of in uniform. Six menacing guards surrounded us and prevented any potential shenanigans or escape attempts.

I wonder what they’re going to do with us?

I’d yet to be beaten, but these solid iron loops around my neck and wrists didn’t promise a life of puppy dogs and bedtime stories. The metal didn’t chafe, and I still didn’t understand how they’d welded it around my appendages without any heat source.

Magic, it had to have been. I thought the news stories were fabrications from drunk hillbillies. But it must be true. The invaders have magic. These “Crusaders” haven’t abused me yet, so I’m not prepared to kick and scream. All I have left is to wait and see how everything goes. I hope Jessie made it away safely. He should be able to care for the wheat. That farm is all we have left of our folks.

Some of the men in line with me snapped and snarled like beasts, their bodies pockmarked with dirty cuts, bruises, and scars, a feast that indicated lives of hardship and violence. Their iron loops led to chains that affixed to the floor, clinking with their motion as they tested their strength against the restraints.

Others looked calculating, watching the guards with eyes that promised cold retribution and death. Only a rare few looked like me, shifting from foot to foot, nervously waiting on our fate. Wincing at the memories of my capture, I fought to stop my gorge from rising too far, desperate not to puke on the man standing in front of us, anxiety and guilt making a roiling mess of my stomach. We were still dripping a bit of water after our production line baths and I didn’t want to be singled out for anything.

Our combined fate walked through the tent flap in the form of a man. This man was a giant, and bore no weapons as he strode the the crimson entrance of a tent which sprawled above us like a cathedral.

“Prisoners, I’m here to facilitate your reorientation. For the crime of murder, you are sentenced to five years of servitude. Now, I need everyone to focus on the melnad,” he said, holding up a wooden cross that glowed with an unnaturally calming light. A few turned their heads, looking away from the man with disdain at the given order. I tried to turn my head, but I’d already looked at the light, and once I’d seen it, the cross wouldn’t let me look away. In my peripherals the guards converged on the holdouts, forcing their heads and eyes into position until we all stared, comfortably unblinking, at what I reasoned to be a melnad.

“Good. Here are your commandments,” he spoke with soft conviction, his voice filling up the empty corners of the room until I was swimming in sound.

The light and his voice combined into a silken serpent that coiled around my brain, constricting over and over again. Squeezing, until his words were the only thing that mattered. From what I could see, my experience seemed to be the norm for the prisoners. An intricate golden rune began to form onto each of our foreheads, looking something like a mixture of a cross and an ampersand.

“You shall obey your master so long as the order does not endanger others. Secondly, you will protect your master from threats of external harm. Finally, you are not allowed to injure yourself unless it is done to follow a previous commandment. Such is the will of God, he who rules above all.”

The runes flared for a second, dousing the room in an uncomfortable light and heat. An itchy feeling smothered my brain before going away, the rune on our heads dimming.

The speaker pocketed the melnad as the guards at the far end of the structure began shuffling dazed looking servants out of the tent. Free to move, I approached the speaker, concerned about something he’d said at the start of his speech.

He was examining a tablet that looked to be composed of fallen light, unfamiliar runescript running up the device in a scrolling manner that reminded me of Star Wars.

“Ummm. Excuse me?” I asked tremulously, nervous now that I was in front of such a commanding individual. He looked up from his tablet, focusing on me as I fidgeted.

In that moment another prisoner struck, landing a blow that rocked the speakers head. Two guards converged on the prisoner, one of them taking what I’d dubbed the ‘taser stick’ out of her uniform and paralyzing the offending prisoner.

“Sociopath,” she muttered darkly. “I’ll take him to Melitas,” she promised the speaker as the two hauled away the prisoner.

The speaker turned back to me, an intense rage burning on his face.

“Sorry about-” I began apologizing.

“Silence!” he shouted. My rune flared once, the last light of the melnad evaporating into my brain, sinking it’s mystical tentacles into my folds. Another guard rushed up and grabbed my arms, forcing them behind my back and holding them there. The captain closed his eyes and visibly reined in his rage, waving off the guard restraining me. He rubbed at his jaw, flexing it a couple of times before speaking.

“Okay. What was it you were saying?” he said, echoes of anger still lingering around the edges of his expression.

Opening my mouth nothing came out.

What the?

Incredulous I tried again with the same results.

I can’t speak!

Like a fish, my mouth flapped without a sound as I fought to produce a sound. Paint drying was louder than what was coming out of my throat. A cold fear filled my gut, realization dousing me with icy dread.

“Are you trying to piss me-,” he said, growing angry again before he realized what’d happened. “Oh. Sorry about that. Maybe your master can fix that that once the commandment rune settles. Actually…” he said, turning to the guard restraining me. “Take him to Helal, she’s in need of a servant, although she’d never pick one for herself. A quiet and demure one like this might avoid her wrath for a time.”

Nodding, the guard marched me out of the tent while I struggled to wrap my brain around my new reality. We left the center of the camp, heading towards the outskirts, the tents steadily becoming more elaborate and gaudy as we traveled. A more modest tent of middling size stood in front of us, almost spartan in its lack of decorations and embroidery compared to its neighbors. Nervously, my guard marched up to the front of the tent, taking a second to compose himself and clear his throat before speaking.

“Commander Helal, a prisoner has been provided to act as your servant,” he called out, his voice overly loud.

Silence was the only response.

Looking terrified, he considered various options while mumbling to himself before approaching the entrance.

“Commander Helal, I shall leave the prisoner in your entryway.” He turned and addressed me. “Prisoner, you shall stand inside her tent. Do not touch anything. Do not make trouble until she gets home. Is that clear?” he said threateningly, venting his anxiety at a less imposing target.

This commander must be a real monster to instill this kind of fear. Also, the whole not-talking-thing is going to get old quickly. And I imagine it will get me into loads of trouble considering my new “profession.”

“Is that clear?” he snapped at me.

I snapped an instinctive salute just to do something in the affirmative. Opening mouth, I waved my hand in front of it, eyes wide as I tried to get my point across.

“Oh right. You have your instructions,” he called out before hurrying away as if his coat tail was on fire.

The tent opened up into a living space comparable to a one person apartment, complete with bookshelves, rocking chair and couch. I tried to take a step forward and explore the area more thoroughly but the guards command stopped me cold. Sighing in defeat, I settled in for a long wait.

An hour and a half later, the entrance flap opened, a reddish-haired woman entering as if she owned the place.

Which she probably does.

My back ached as I stretched up from my sitting position, beginning to rise to my feet. Reacting with whip like speed, she punched me in the gut and threw me to the floor with a well practiced judo maneuver. By the time she was done, she loomed above me with a knee on my throat. Her eyes flicked to the sigil on my forehead and her hostility eased.

Fractionally.

“Who are you supposed to be?” she said, her knee still on my throat.

Even fearing for my life I still managed to answer her with a sarcastic eyebrow arch, eyes dancing down towards where her knee still choked me.

“Right. Sorry about that. Now, tell me what you’re doing in my home?” She released the pressure on my throat.

This is Commander Helal? I suspected more of a musclebound meathead than a California girl with ninja skills.

I tried to mouth words at her. “I can’t speak.”

I pointed at the sigil and prayed to god that she understood what I was trying to convey.

“My fuse is exceedingly short and I’ve had a very long day. So, if your playing games with me, stop,” she growled, narrowing her eyes with obvious menace.

My testicles made an admirable effort to hide within my body.

I fought to keep myself from gibbering I held my throat as if I was choking.

“If you don’t say anything in five seconds I’m going to do something… unpleasant. Five.”

My eyes bulged and my mouth flapped.

“Four.”

I heaved and tried to get out from under her.

“Three.”

Adrenaline pumped through my veins and my struggles redoubled.

“Two.” Then her eyes widened in some sort of realization and she eased off her pressure.

“There’s no way you’re faking that fear. And yet, you still haven’t said anything. Let me guess, something went wrong with the imprinting process.”

My head bobbed up and down in my best, most enthusiastic, bobblehead impression.

“And then he went and pawned you off on me in the hope that I could use or deal with you appropriately. Asshole.”

I cocked my head to the side, unsure how I was supposed to respond.

“Well, you’re obviously not a threat Let’s get you up and situated so we can start to figure this out. It’s not your fault that I’m stuck with you.” She pulled me to my feet. Helal turned and began moving through the cloth hallway.

My legs refused to move, and I worried that she might take offense when I didn’t follow her order.

“Come on in.”

The sigil thrummed, and the brakes holding my legs released, allowing me to walk forward. Clutching my chest, I followed her deeper into the tent, my heart still thundering after the physical confrontation and scare.

The tent was about the size of a one person apartment, complete with upright stove that piped smoke out through a pipe that funneled it out of a hole in the roof. The floor was lumpy, mixmashed rugs strewn everywhere over the uneven ground, overlapping and providing a patchwork quilt styling to the scene. There was a small wooden island and a bowl of standing water to act like a sink. A rocking chair sat empty next to an overfilled bookshelf, the multitude of bound paper novels spilling out on top of one another along the shelves.

Helal twisted her hair and shook it out, allowing the metallic strands to flow freely from the wound up bun and tickle her shoulders. Her hair possessed an unearthly sheen, shining with the same colors as a russet sunrise, equal amount of ineffable mysticality. Her skin was lightly bronzed, indicating a healthy amount of time spent under the sun.

She faced me directly, squaring her shoulders and folding her arms behind her back like a drill sergeant. “You are allowed to speak.”

“Testing. One. Two. Three,” I mouthed, still producing no sound. Shaking my head, I held my hands up off to my sides of my shoulders, shrugging.

“Well, it was worth a shot.” She wrinkled her nose, focusing her attention on prying loose the armor that plastered itself to her legs. Seemingly unconcerned with my lack of attire, she sighed in release as she let the metal pieces fall to the side. She possessed a lithely muscled body, her limbs practically thrumming with well mastered strength and body control. She rocked her neck from side to side, twin cracks of tendons rocking over bone snapping out. Rolling her shoulders, she glanced at me speculatively. Undeniably beautiful, her physical presence working in tandem with her stunning eyes to render me speechless. Sighing, she rubbed the space between her eyes as if to ward off a burgeoning headache.

“I’ll tinker a bit and we’ll figure out a way around or a method to break the compulsion. Tonight is not that night, however. I’m tired, hungry, and ready for bed. How do you feel about whipping me up a bite to eat?” She looked over, and I didn’t respond. “Sorry, that was a cruel attempt at humor. I’ve got something that might help with communication. Although, supposedly you deserve this fate. What crime did you commit to land yourself here?”

I was equal parts frustrated and ashamed, that horrible day mixing with my current muteness, forcing me to turn my head away.

“Sorry again, that was thoughtless. Twice over.” She looked apologetic. “I’ll be back in a moment.” She traveled deeper into the domicile through the only other hallway. My fingers sketched the coarse fabric of the walls. They were taut, weighed down by heavy wooden planks slotted into a pocket that ran along the bottom of the wall.

Helal returned with a two foot by two foot green chalk board and a mechanical pencil that used chalk instead of lead.

And a robe.

I blushed as I donned the plush garment.

I can’t believe I actually forgot I was naked. Well except for my restraints.

The metal weighed on my wrist without chafing, I shook them absentmindedly while I positioned the board against a countertop.

“Thank you,” I wrote cautiously. Still off balance from the abrupt shift in life trajectory, I decided to be as courteous and deferential as I could. Which I thought was wise, considering I had no choice but to obey her every command.

“Sorry I can’t do anything about the restraints, rules say that prisoners can’t go without them. It helps to create an easily identifiable visual profile that helps solidify hierarchy in times of crises.” She spoke with the terse rhythm of military personnel. Which matched the impression I’d received with her greeting.

“It’s okay. They aren’t so bad.”

“It’s barbaric but they do serve a purpose. They also are imbued with healing magic so that they won’t chafe or pinch too badly. They should help keep you able-bodied, capable of resisting most common ailments.”

I didn’t quite know how to respond to that, so I just shifted my weight from foot to foot and looked everywhere but at her.

“Not that I intend to subject you to common ailments or anything…”

Pinching her lips tersely, she looked almost as confounded by the situation as I felt. She, however, had an out. Walking up to me, she laid a warm hand on my shoulder. “I’m gonna go shower. Make yourself comfortable, feel free to explore and… if you feel like it, put things away. I’ve lived alone long enough to let things slide and the place has certainly suffered for it.” A forced chuckle slipped through her lips as she left the room with an awkward wave.

Grateful to Helal, I did as she asked, appreciating her thoughtfulness in giving me a modest task that let me acclimate to both my situation and environment. Letting me find my footing while alone and not under her watchful, gorgeous eyes.

I feel like I’m a wild animal that’s been placed in a zoo, and my keeper is trying to ease my transition.

There were only four rooms to the house. The living room slash kitchen, containing the majority of the furniture. A guest room with a floor futon and locked chest. The sounds of water splashing let me locate the bathroom where Helal was presumably bathing. By logical elimination that left only Helal’s bedroom. She had a large bed, with a soft looking cream colored comforter that hung disheveled off half the edge. A single dresser had all four of its drawers opened to varying lengths with various outfits spilling out of it like a fabric disembowelment due to laziness.

I decided to get to work, hoping to impress my keeper with my initiative and start our relationship on good footing.

Better footing, I thought, remembering the way she’d threatened me after I’d been ordered to invade her home.

Starting with the comforter, I gave it a sharp shake to spread it out and begin making the bed presentable. Something hidden in its folds fell out and clattered to the floor with a high pitched chime.

Shit!

The last thing I wanted to do on my first night here was to break something. Hurrying around the bed, I caught sight of the troublesome object lying intact on the rug.

A square cut diamond, about the size of a ping pong ball lay innocuously on the floor. The light in the room refracted onto a small rainbow, gracing the burgundy rug with a riot of color. My chest seized when I noticed a cloudy occlusion swirling inside the center of the gem.

Then it moved.

Dancing around the rigid lattice like spiraling smoke from a bonfire, the motion eased my worry, the fear of having broken something lessening with evidence of the magical nature of the gem. Not thinking of potential consequences, I bent over and touched the diamond.

One moment I was in the tent…

Then I wasn’t.

I was… elsewhere.

Facing a very different view.

I blinked, but the view refused to change.

Sauntering towards me, birthday-suit naked, eyes cast demurely downward, was an enchanting woman. She wasn’t from our world, displaying the same graceful ethereality Helal and the other invaders of her race possessed. Hair so dark it appeared to contain an almost supernatural shade of violet bobbed on her head with every step. Her stomach was trim, flaring out into an ample waist and backside that seemed to ripple with bountiful femininity. A demure sensualness lurked behind her overt submission, drawing a feral grin to my face, my hands itching to sink into her flesh. She raised her head, just for an instant, just long enough to glimpse her eyes. Sparkling orbs of striking jade, they burned with eminent, triumphant desire. Pulsing, naked, hungry desire.

For me.

Deviating her course, she avoided me with a scant handspan space between our electrically charged bodies. It was that moment that I discovered a truth I hadn’t yet realized, so enthralled was I by the morsel dangling herself in front of me, I was not holding the reigns of the body I currently occupied. The world went dark as someone other than mine ordered my eyes closed in a slow, seductive blink.

While cataloging the multitude of differences my new body held, I had a singular moment of extreme dysphoria, my body feeling alien and wrong, like a poorly tailored suit hanging off an incompatible frame. Breasts hung heavy off my bared chest, swaying subtly with my shifting weight, dissipated the energy into my toned body after it turned to chase the alluring woman. A strange energy, something that felt like liquid light, swam through my veins, bubbling with untapped otherworldly potential. My slender hands were crisscrossed with a myriad of pale scars, remnants of old sword lessons from a time long passed. There was an ache I was unaccustomed to feeling between my thighs and upon my breasts. A stirring that spoke of blood flow and burgeoning desires. My thighs grew damp, sliding against one another, propelling me toward the genesis of my lust, my hips swaying in a sultry saunter.

She leaned across the bed, tempting me with her curves and overt submission. I placed my palm along her chin and she leaned into it, her muscles drawing back, tight with anticipation. The scent of desire, her desire, drifted through my senses and my eyes flushed bright with naked hunger. Threading my fingers through her silken hair, it drifted in waves, teasing my fingertips with a thousand velvety touches. She sandwiched my hand with her own, raising her eyes just far enough to read the measured insolence in her expression. Just enough to dare me to do something about it.

I didn’t disappoint.

I couldn’t disappoint.

My needs wouldn’t let me.

Not that I have any choice on the matter, this body is running on autopilot.

She gasped as I clutched the roots of her hair and bent her backwards onto the bed, her legs dangling off the edge. My lips and tongue found the vulnerable spot on her neck, pinching, sucking, and licking with abandon and not a hint of shame. My body burned for her, and I would make her feel that flame.

First one knee, then the other landed on the bed, straddling her. I began marching them forward, inch by inch, towering over her while I worked my way toward the my destination: those lovely lips. She licked the plump pink skin, wetting them until they glistened. The brief glimpse of her tongue tantalized. My pussy pressed against her silken skin with each bounce of the bed from my shifting weight, leaving damp tracks behind; evidence of my arousal deposited like paw prints in the snow. An almost familiar tightness coiled in my body, a warmth of arousal that was focused in my gut but also diffused outward, filling my limbs with a trembling energy. An eager tongue met equally burning lips. Leaning back, I let my weight fall upon her face, pressing her into the mattress. Rolling my hips, I ground my wanton sex into her head, making her chase my pleasure with every upward bounce. And she did. With a fervent eagerness her tongue and lips nibbled at my labia, occasionally falling inside. Groaning, I let my fingers fall to my clit, wobbling it between two digits, sending a trembling that echoed through my core. Tighter and tighter, like an ephemeral jack-in-the-box, my arousal trembled with ever growing potential, just waiting for the chance to explode. Sunset colored locks teased my back when I turned to look over her beautiful body. She wasn’t being passive, the middle two fingers of her right hand sunk between her thighs, thrusting and jerking. Her scent teased the air and her ministrations paused, a muffled moan spilling from between folds of my sex, her muscles locking down for a moment while her release spilled down her legs. Her jade eyes burned, flashing up at me from between my breasts. I twitched as her tongue plumbed my pussy, finding a spot that lit up my core like a lightning bolt. Noticing my reaction, she focused in on it, her tongue swabbing liberally with firm, broad strokes.

“There,” I panted. “Right there. Don’t stop. Dont-” Then I was at a place beyond words. My magic shattered the bottle of my control. Little slivers sliding through the skin of my back, illuminating the scene as my wings manifested in their eternal glory. Arching backward, I pressed my pussy as deeply as I could manage as I rode out the euphoria of my orgasm. Flapping dully, the air stirred, tossing my hair across my face. She looked up at me with affection and love. I reached down, cradling her damp cheek in my palm.

The simulation shuddered once before spitting me out.

Once more in my own body, I found myself face down in Helal’s bed, hips grinding an erection into the fabric of my robes. A dull wetness indicated that the sensations had been only too real.

What the fuck just happened?

Recovering my wits, I wrapped up the dangerous gem in what seemed like a clean sock and placed it carefully back in the drawer, closing it with a firm shove. My limbs still tingled and my thoughts felt like they had to float through a dense fog before arriving in my brain. A wave of dizziness swept over me. I stumbled under the influence of my sigil. A sigil which clashed harshly with the magic of the simulation gem. Something cracked within me and the uneasiness died down. Three small lines added themselves to the sigil, the light flaring bright, much like it did in the prisoner tent under the influence of the melnad. It went unnoticed, my eyes buried into my hands while I fought off a small panic attack.

I’d just dropped the last of her dirty clothes into a pile in the corner when Helal peeled back the cloth door that segregated her room from the rest of the house. She was dressed in a twin robe to the one I was wearing and was patting down her damp hair with a towel.

“Thanks for cleaning up…” A trill of unusual pleasure flapped through my veins at her words. “… Actually I don’t know your name. I guess I’d forgotten about introductions during our… unusual greeting,” she smiled, her straight white teeth gleaming in a winsome smile. She approached me hand outstretched. “I’m Helal, commander of the third legion of this crusade, currently in charge of training some green gen poppers into something worth a damn.”

Shaking her hand in a firm greeting, I opened my mouth to return the greeting, but of course, nothing game out. Frowning in frustration I looked around the room.

Where did that thing get off to? Ah.

I spotted the chalkboard on top of the dresser, hustling over to it while Helal chuckled. Freezing with the pen above the board, I hesitated on what to write.

Do I give her my full name or, just what I prefer to be called? I hate my full name.

The writing utensil curled across the board as I came to a decision.

Not like she’ll know the difference.

“I’m El. It’s nice to meet you,” I wrote, while Helal waited patiently. Revealing the writing to her, I shuffled nervously as she read, struck by the realities of my situation.

This is what it’ll be like. These awkward silences and stilted responses.

“That’s kind of you to say, El. You’re sweet. I think we’ll get along just fine,” she called over her shoulder while disrobing. Her towel and robe were tossed into the pile without a hint of modesty. Ruffling through her dresser, her golden skin glowed, my wide eyes taking in her every curve and plane of her well toned backside. I murmured a silent apology, I fled from the room, my chalkboard clutched tightly to my chest, manacles clanging off the board with every step.

“Sorry,” she called out through laughter. “I’d forgotten that your people have strange hangups with nudity.”

What the fuck has happened to my life?

Such was the beginning of my domestic life with Commander Helal.

I slowly grew accustomed to being unable to speak, as well as having to haul around my chalkboard to facilitate communication. Helal went about her business while I tended to her home, and we fell into a routine. A safe little routine where nothing was changing. Certainly not my body which felt strange at times, the esoteric golden light engraved in my forehead pulsing, encouraging my body.

Preparing.

I studiously ignored all warning signs and made no mention of them to Helal. Both for the humiliation of the admission as well as the burden it might place on my mistress. Not to mention having to mention the potentially touchy subject of having seen what’s inside her masturbation gem. I’d learned that the sigil did more than just a compel to obey her explicit commands. When I willingly did what she told me to do, the sigil rewarded me with a dose of mind numbing pleasure. Time passed and I realized I’d become dependent on magical drug hits, seeking out ways to get Helal to ask things of me. Like Pavlov’s dog, I’d become conditioned to want her presence, her absence throwing me into dark moods where I lounged about, doing nothing more than await her arrival. It was a bipolar roller coaster, the thrilling highs coming from her presence, only to fall into a lurching emotional morass when she left for work. It was more than a little frustrating, having my state of mind tied so intrinsically to another.

But…

All that evaporated under a glimpse of her smile or the subtle touch of her hand as she thanked me for my help or complimented me on the cooking. Being around her made me happy and that was a terrible thing to try and resent. In the end, I decided to roll with the punches and walk, eyes wide open, into whatever fate held for me.

It was a seemingly normal evening that the real trouble began. It’s preparations complete, the rune began to apply more leverage, cranking up the pressure on my body.

My nipples ached, strangely sensitive under my shirt. Rubbing them eased the feeling a bit but caused them the throb with a pleasurable tingle. Blood flowed steadily into the sensitive spots, perking up into twin points on either side of my chest. I returned to chopping up the mushrooms, sauteeing them in a hunk of butter and a heaping helping of garlic. The delicious aroma filled the kitchen cove as, unbeknownst to me, the dark pink nipples bagan to widen, my areolas expanding like an ink oil stain across my pale flesh. Nerves sprouting like dandelions in a field underneath the darker flesh. My finger brushed against one carelessly. The spike of sensation made me drop my knife as blood stirred in my pants, an erection making its presence known. I stared at my hands incredulously, like they were a strangers as the echoing sensation faded. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to grimly return to the meal, ignoring the ghostly desire that haunted my body, unheard whispers incessantly telling me to “Do it again.”

Later, safely alone in the bathroom, I unclothed, examining my changed flesh for the first time. The looked like, well, like nipples, but more than that, they looked like a woman’s nipples. More specifically-

A vision sprang unbidden into my mind. A violet mane of hair and a delicious tongue sinking into my depths as I rode her face, her breasts flattening out on her chest, nipples standing proud, her-

Shaking my head, I stopped the hand that’d been creeping toward a sensitive patch of pink flesh.

Her nipples. The lady from the dream sequence. Only now they are mine.

I let my curiosity control my actions and my sensitive nipple practically purred with satisfaction at the touch of my fingers. My lips parted and a silent moan slipped from my lips before I could stop it. It was as sensual as I’d imagined it would’ve felt and was compounded by the fact that I was getting the sensations from both directions, both squeezing an engorged nipple and being touched like that.

Before I could get into anything deeper, Helal arrived home, putting an end to any additional shenanigans. I smiled warmly at Helal, grateful, for once, to my muteness. It helped me hide my rattled thoughts. Dinner with my mistress passed without any additional incidents, and I was comfortable on the couch, a book placed firmly on my lap while Helal poured over what appeared to be marching orders. She set them down with a sigh, throwing her head back over the edge of the couch.

“Anything I can do to help?” I wrote, tapping the edge of the chalkboard to get her attention.

“No, nothing…” She paused, thinking about it for a moment, reconsidering. “You know what, there is something you can do.”

My heart fluttered with excitement, a rush that was totally involuntary, my body preparing to receive a dose of happiness that came from following her command.

“Give me your feet.”

What?

My body reacted to her words before I could even begin to dissect her motivations. Her hands tugged on my ankle and I slid deeper into the couch cushions.

“I don’t think I’ve adequately expressed how much help you’ve been,” she said, working her thumbs along the bridge of my foot. She ruthlessly chased every bit of tension or knots away from my feet. “Our meeting might not have been traditional, and our relationship is certainly unorthodox, but it’s nice to have company. I tend to be a private person El, unwilling to relax the military coat that hangs on my shoulders at all times. You’ve helped break me out of a rut I’d unknowingly fallen into, and it’s nice to show my own appreciation from time to time. You never complain, and you do so much for me. When you feel ready, I’d like to hear about how you were… collected. It chafes at my mind occasionally. The not knowing, that is. I’m not used to the feeling.”

My mind was filled with visions of that day and my body tensed. I reached for my board, unable to stop myself from trying to make her happy.

Helal noticed. “Relax.”

And I did.

“Only when you feel comfortable enough to share. I was talking to Abraham about your condition and he said he might swing by to have a look at your sigil to see about how we could go about fixing it.” She returned to the foot massage and, while her touch verged on uncomfortably strong, the satisfaction was palpable. Both physically and mentally, helped along with gentle waves from the binding rune. Her talented fingers weaving the bonds between us ever tighter, creating a warm cocoon of warmth that lulled me to sleep. I woke briefly, Helal’s arms easily supporting me as she lifted me from the couch and carried me to bed with her. She settled into the bed behind me, curling around behind me, hugging me a close. Before I could consider the ramifications, she whispered a single word into my ear.

“Sleep.”

And I did.

I awoke in her bed the next morning and, with no clear way to interpret the enigmatic warriors attention, I shrugged it off as an outlying one off and put it from my mind, and I continued about my day.

That night I lay in bed, my eyes closed while I tried to fall asleep. My thoughts had only began to settle. Just before I was able to drift off, an uncomfortable sensation formed around my waist, as if some invisible come along was slowly ratcheting down, stealing my breath away.

What now? I thought with exasperation.

At the same time an industrial press pushed my hips down. The combined effect had my waist vanishing inch by impossible inch. Gritting my teeth, I let out a silent scream, my limbs tingling in my blanket with my thrashing. I sobbed with relief as the strange force subsided, leaving me a wrung out wreck to fall into a troubled sleep. Small tweeks continued throughout the night as the corrupted sigil continued to work its magic, tinkering until I was left with a delicate waist with moderately wider hips. Shaking off the vague remembrances in the morning, I fell on my breakfast with a consuming hunger. I continued with my routine, unaware of the layers of padding being placed like tarmac under my skin, reinforcing my newly feminine figure.

Three days later, a light layer of flour dusted my hands as I patted down an even layer of dough onto the wooden cutting board that rested in my lap. Using a cup, I portioned out eight biscuits, setting them aside as I let the pan heat up over the wood fire stove. Soft footsteps on the rugs announced Helal’s presence as she finished her shower. Her damp hair radiant under the lamplight, highlighting its exotic coloration with bursts of flickering light. Patting it dry, she looked over my prep work appreciatively. Bubbling, the pot of gravy released its savory smell to curl throughout the tent.

“Those look good. Thank you for making them.”

I had to suppress the shiver of pleasure that trickled from the sigil, tickling my brain with it’s addictive bliss.

“I think that last time I had biscuits was when Sven, whose actual name is Gordan… I can’t remember why we call him Sven now. Anyway, he tried his hand at making biscuits. I say try because what came out of that oven more closely resembled charcoal bricks than anything remotely edible.”

I shared a silent chuckle with her. The cooking was finished, the biscuits turning out fairly well for my first attempt. The meal was intimate as always, the lighting low with nothing to entertain us but each other. A blush dusted my cheeks every time Helal moaned appreciatively at my homemade meal.

My chalk tapped on the board. “Good?”

“Excellent. As always El, I don’t know what I’d do without you anymore.”

“Stop it.” Ducking my head, I hid the smile that curled my lips as a ribbon of satisfaction did the same to my spine.

A warm hand enveloped mine in silken flesh.

“Seriously though, thank you for all your help. El, I know you don’t have a choice in the matter and that’s wrong, but still… Thank you.”

Earnestness like that should be illegal.

My words were shaky as I wrote them onto my board. “Your Welcome”

“Wrong your. It should be y-o-u-apostrophe-r-e,” she teased with a smile.

Smiling back, I scribbled, “Ass,” onto the board, pointing to each letter in turn before returning to my food.

Helal produced a, “Who me?” look, her eyes twinkling with mirth before she too, returned to her meal.

Washing the dishes after our shared dining experience, I bobbed my head to the self-playing harp Helal had set up in the corner of the living room. Unconstrained and free floating, my brain was wandering into lewd territories; thinking about the magic cube and the scene I’d experienced, the dishes were robotically scrubbed clean, passing from one side of the washing bowl to the other. They were left to drip dry on a large platter, freshly cleaned and rinsed.

I stiffened when an unexpected pair of hands landed on my hips.

“Hello,” Helal whispered sultrily into my ear, the acrid scent of alcohol carried along with her exhalation.

A warmth that had nothing to do with the sigil wound through my gut, arousal burning through my limbs like a warm breath into winter air. “You know I can help with things like this, right?” she asked, her fingers lightly caressing the fabric that hugged my hips while pointing at the clean dishes.

Drying off my hand, I scrawled a short note. “I don’t mind.”

She took a deep breath, wisps of my longer hair pulled along with my scent into her senses. Helal savored the sensation, fingertips squeezing the soft flesh along the curve of my hip, slowly migrating toward my backside.

Panting, it felt like the majority of the oxygen in the tent had decided to take a sudden vacation.

She paused, squeezing again.

Struggling against the instinct to push more firmly into her touch, I focused on maintaining a death grip on the plate in my hands, which was suddenly trembling and threatened to slip and shatter onto the countertop.

“Are you getting enough exercise? I don’t want to be rude but you feel…”

My eyes narrowed and I set down the ceramic plate, hefting a handy spatula. Sudsy water dripped along my arm onto the counter top.

“…pudgy.”

Playfully, I flicked the water at Helal’s face and she played along, hissing like a cat and wheeling back. The distance between us let the air back into the room, and I was able to breath easy once more.

“THIN ICE,” I scrawled, water droplets creating dark splotches around my writing.

“I just want you to be healthy. El, answer me, are you getting enough exercise?”

Her eyes and tone bore into me and the compulsion sunk it greedy teeth into my mind.

I shrugged and began writing, having no other option.

Strangely, that thought doesn’t chafe as much as it once did.

“I could probably use some more.” I turned away from her, not because I didn’t like the way she’d forced my hand.

Because I did.

There was a portion of me that rolled in the blissful joy that trickled from the sigil like a cat rolling in a patch of catnip. The satisfaction tumbling through my veins like the hit of a drug.

My eyes fluttered and I pulled away from Helal, releasing the spatula to splash into the soapy bowl of water. I shrugged, not sure how to answer any better.

“Okay then, I’ll start taking you with me on my morning runs.” The room fell into a pregnant silence before Helal resumed speaking. “I don’t like doing that. It’s wrong. This system is wrong… But it brought me you. I care about you El, never forget that.” Helal spun and marched from the room, shoulders drawn back, tense as she disappeared into her bedroom. Curled under covers, I hugged my arms to my sensitive chest, dishes dried and safely stored in their appropriate spots. Piteously, I rocked back and forth, trying to distract myself from the pangs of changes that flowed through my body. My hips ached, the bones there reshaping, widening. The memory of the sexual experience from the cube assaulted my senses, tantalizing me with the possibilities, tempting me with Helal’s hidden fantasies. The sigil buzzed, its magic soaking in, corrupting the fibers of my bones and muscles. My hands drifted toward my sex, but I stopped myself, pinching the roaming digits between my knees, safely imprisoned from my erect cock. The magic was insidious, working slowly. Always lurking in the background, it stalked me with silent inevitability. A restless sleep drug me from my musings, freeing my mind through the medium of an unsettled unconsciousness.

“El… El, wake up.”

“Five more minutes,” I said silently, rolling over and clutching the blanket more tightly to my chest.

“Come on El,” Helal, chuckled. Pinching my nose closed, she forced me to a more alert state. Snorting and grumbling internally the whole way.

“What’s happening?” I wrote on my board, wiping the bleariness from my eyes.

So early.

Then, a moment of terror struck me, a fear that I’d revealed my changing anatomy to her. Fortunately, my comforter was still pulled over my unwrapped areola and I released a sigh of relief.

“Were starting your workout regiment,” she said, throwing me a baggy t-shirt and shorts.

Said clothes were soaked in sweat, covering some severely aching muscles by the time Helal allowed me to end my suffering. My feet throbbed in time with my heartbeat as my slow shuffling jog ended with my hands on my hips.

I hate her.

The thought was false and quickly soothed away by the sigil. I looked over at the still perfectly put together Helal, barely breathing hard. The sunrise spilled over the top of the tent town, illuminating the morning fog.

How can she still look so fine?

The only indication of the miles we’d run together was a dusting of red across her cheeks. She helped me through the slit in our tent and onto the couch. I flopped down, too exhausted to care about propriety as she began boiling water for our breakfast. I groaned, silently of course, my muscles protesting every twinge as I attempted to flop out of the couch’s embrace to assist Helal.

“Stay right there and relax,” she called out, tossing me a towel.

Wiping my face and neck clean, I stretched out as much as I could. She returned to the stove, stirring oatmeal into the boiling water. I was grateful for the command, my body following her words far better than the signals from my own brain. The muscles releasing their tightness, allowing my limbs to sprawl out wide. The lingering tension of exertion dissipated, the couch hugged me close, the leather comfortable enough that I managed to doze off. The warm smell of sugary oats pulled me from my slumber, Helal’s amused expression the first thing I saw as she waved the bowl under my nose. I fell upon the simple fare with all the grace of a wild animal.

“Excuse me,” I wrote, horrified at my poor manners. My mother, bless her soul, had always told me that proper bearing was important, that one should always keep the highest standard of civility. ‘Never be a burden, the finest way to bring yourself joy is through helping others.’

“Don’t hold back on my account. I know what it’s like to be hungry. You won’t offend me. Eat however you like.” She chuckled and dug into her own meal after lacing the thing liberally with sugar.

Even with her reassurances, I was very careful for the remainder of the meal, managing to get by without additional incidents. The unending vastness of her patience and caring created a warmth in my chest, an ache that had me yearning for her touch.

Later, I found myself on the toilet, partaking in the age old method of stress relief, masturbation. My hand pulled up and down along my dick which had so far escaped the runic energies that were running freely through my body. My thoughts were focused on a sunset colored beauty that filled my dreams and fears, as well as controlled my body.

Her strength and sensuality. The confidence and comfortable femininity. Her mantle of authority. Those fingers, grabbing my head, forcing me to look at her while she works her hips over me. Taking me for her pleasure. My own coming only incidentally through her allowance and permission.

My heartbeat and breath worked in tandem, working hard to supply oxygen to my feverish organs. I could feel my pulse in through my dick, continuing to stroke it, steadily increasing my pace as I approached my release. The sigil burned with a dull heat, mystical tendrils working their way into my chest like a trees roots worked through the ground. My hand crept up to my nipple and I couldn’t stop myself from giving it a gentle tug.

The electric arc of pleasure to the groin was enough to send me tumbling over the edge into release. My seed spilled out into the carved wooden bowl, the enchantment engraved in the bottom, searing every speck into a fine odorless ash that joined a pile of the similar material in the bottom. It was in the unconscious moment of ecstasy that the rune struck, the magic quivering slightly, the flesh of my chest ballooning almost imperceptibly, gaining a small mass of nerves and fat.

I felt good and satisfied, slumping on the toilet, recovering from release. I thumbed my soft pectoral, speculating. Shivering, spider legs of premonition crawled across my brain. I realized I wouldn’t have the willpower to do deny myself this pleasure, no matter the consequences. I felt like I could see the future, laid out before me like a roadmap. The change wouldn’t be much, but it would accumulate, every day, once a day for a week. Then twice a week, my budding breasts growing under my self indulgent spree as the sigil sculpted my body and mind, creating me into something that could better serve my controller. The first time I noticed the change continued, even when I wasn’t post-orgasm vulnerable, was after I inadvertently groped myself one day upon waking. The soft flesh pleasing to both my breast and my hand. It took a second and third squeeze, each producing a throb from my morning wood, before I believed that I wasn’t still dreaming. My first thought was one of panic.

How am I going to hide this from Helal?

At this point, I wasn’t sure why my initial consideration was for how this might separate me from her, but it was. In a near frantic, I tried to come up with a solution to my predicament. My fix was to take some of the spare bandages and create a breast wrap that would hopefully, along with my baggy clothing, help conceal my newly growing assets.

I don’t know if my body could handle any additional workouts if Helal catches wind of it.

Later that week, after lovely stir fry with fresh cut carrots, Helal felt comfortable enough with my presence to show off her magic. She did so without warning, nothing but a sly smile to her face while she sat on the couch. Setting her loose papers to the side, she rolled her neck. I looked up from the swashbuckling fantasy book I’d been reading. I arched a brow and cocked my head to the side. Helal, said nothing, her brown eyes glowing faintly, leaning back into the couch, folding her arms behind her head. Shrugging, I returned to the novel. Only, I couldn’t get her look out of my head. I kept glancing at her over the top of my book, but she wasn’t moving or anything. A flicker of light that illuminated the paper in front of me was my first warning. The wisp of breath on my neck was the second. I brushed my hair away only to have the tickling feeling return. Turning my head, I found myself face to face with an impossible miniature creature. Wreathed in scintillating light, a tiny unicorn pegasus pranced on my shoulder, mane twisting wildly through a shaken head. Exuding wonder, I plucked the small creature from my shoulder, cradling it in my palms. My eyes darted to Helal’s amused expression before returning to the unicorn, whose wings were held out wide, preening for its enthralled audience. Sunlight burned in Helal’s eyes, focusing intensely on the precise control her magic required to run the enchanting summon through its paces. The tail flicked and the unicorn reared back, wings spread tall before fading away, like a rain cloud under a breeze. Bouncing between my now empty hands and her face, my eyes were wide with childlike wonder at the magical experience.

Looking smug, Helal plucked a fresh grape from a bowl on the coffee table, popping it into her mouth and crunching down on it suavely. Only a light sheen of sweat indicated the magnitude of the effort it had required to create the lightshow.

Tossing another grape into the air, she caught it in her mouth, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth while my own gaped at her, my chalk poised above the board, wanting to communicate but completely at a loss for what to write.

How do I put that into words? Amazing? Wondrous? Adorable? They all seem to fall flat.

The next grape was also tossed into the air, but instead of catching it with her mouth she snagged it with a sweeping swipe of her hand, a playful expression stealing across her face. “Open up.”

I complied, sticking my tongue out like a red carpet. Tossing a grape across the four foot gap, she sunk it into my mouth effortlessly, landing it perfectly on target

A little too perfectly. The fruit slid into my throat, attempting to pillage my lungs with its sweat flesh. My eyes bulged as I coughed it back into my mouth. Concerned, Helal sprung to her feet, hovering over me, patting my back. I struggled to stop myself from hacking up a lung. Lungs burning, my chest ached while I tried to regain my breath. Helal’s worry was sweet, as was the guilty expression. I waved her off, giving her the okay sign with my fingers, bent over with tears streaming from my eyes.

My throat bobbed up and down as I swallowed the spittle that’d gathered there. A warm hand rubbed soothing circles across my back and a warmth built between my legs. Concentrated pressure built in my neck, the muscles tightening for just a moment under the effects of the sigil that’d decided now would be a perfect opportunity for some additional changes. Mixed sensations of burning, and a more concentrated version of what Helal was doing to my back stole over my throat. The cartilaginous prominence there dissolved under the magic, leaving me with a slimmer, more feminine profile. Working my jaw open and closed, I found the change to be among the more reasonable ones I’d experienced.

“Are you okay?” Helal’s voice held more panic than I thought possible for a woman with such ironclad control.

I nodded and I could feel our collective exhale of relief spill across the room. The grape was actually quite delicious for a potential homicide weapon. Rising to full height, Helal promptly pulled me into a hug. A silent ‘eep’ of surprise slipped from my lips as she held me tight. The warmth in my core grew under the influence of her warm embrace and exotic aroma. Eyeing the bowl of fruit speculatively, I had a deliciously naughty idea. Snagging a piece of fruit, I arched a brow and held it up to her face. Confused she parted her lips, allowing me to slip the grape onto her tongue. My fingers lingered and her lips captured them in a humid cavern. Her teeth scraped against my digits as she moved her head back, allowing her teeth to split the fruits flesh. She swallowed, her eyes locked on mine as her lips released my fingers with a slight pop.

Gulp. That may have been a mistake.

The heat in the tent was suddenly stifling, my heart fluttering in my chest. I promptly turned and fled to my bedroom without a word, unable to face the feelings I’d unknowingly just presented to my captor. My sweet mistress.

“Are you really okay?” Helal asked from outside my room, only a thin cloth sheet separating us.

“Fine,” I wrote on the board before sliding it out into the hallway. Which was technically true, in the most literal sense of the word. The more complete truth was that my body burned for her touch. A space inside me felt empty for her touch. I realized then how much I’d changed since arriving here, both in body and form. Neither was safe under the watchful eye of my sigil.

“Okay,” she said cautiously. “I’m sorry if I hurt you.” She slid the board back under the cloth door.

Those words were knives under my skin, pricking my conscience, prompting a response, but I shook it off. Stubborn and seeking to punish myself for my loss of self to these people who’d stolen my life from me, I did nothing to relieve my anguish. My gut roiled uncomfortable. The sigil throbbed and I knew these thoughts would be gone by morning.

“I’m here if you need me,” were Helal’s parting words as she left me alone.

I flopped to my bed, strength abandoning me. Silence, as was often the case lately, was my only companion as I sobbed myself to sleep, hugging my knees to my chest.

As I’d suspected, the next morning found me feeling fresh, no hint of the resentment of the day before. Helal didn’t mention the strange moment either, and, although we both thought about it often, neither broached the topic to the other. Thus did we continue with our lives, an uneasy equilibrium just waiting to tip one way or the other.

One evening Helal, came home surly, smelling of lime juice, her normally gleaming breastplate tarnished with an ugly yellow stain.

“Clean it,” she huffed, shucking it to the floor, marching grumpily into the bathroom, running water sounding. Pulling out some metal polish from the chest of assorted cleaning supplies, I fell into the task without any complaint, coasting on the submissive joy.

It’s nice to feel useful.

With a rough cloth pad, I scrubbed circles into the silvery plate until it bubbles frothed across the stained portions. Helal emerged from the bathroom, lithe body and hair wrapped in twin towels. A frown marred the plane of her face, making the breath hitch in my chest.

She noticed and visibly worked to school her expression. “Sorry about that. One of my cadets was an idiot and almost got himself gored by a manticore and…” she huffed. “I’m being an ass. Treating you like that. It’s not right. It’s not your fault. And you shouldn’t have to suffer both my grumpiness and complaining, I shouldn’t unload on you like that.

I wiped my hands of the cleaning solution on a dishtowel I’d brought for that purpose.

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine. I-” Helal grew heated.

I held up a finger, cutting her off with a finger. Her gobsmacked look was so funny I chuckled silently. While Helal came to terms with my strange behavior I scribbled on my board.

“It reminds me of my brother,” I wrote pointing to the stain.

“You have a brother?”

“He used to play baseball. It drove my mother batty every time he came home from practice or a game, his uniform just filthy with dirt and grass stains on his knees and elbows.”

“You have a brother?” Helal repeated, as if her brain was struggling with the concept that I might have a family.

“Yes, a younger one. And an older sister. Anyway, his team’s colors were yellow and black with white pants. The worst colors for stains. She used to mumble to herself while she attacked them with a scrub brush and stain remover.”

“Do you miss them?” Helal asked timidly, as if she feared the answer.

“Yes and No.” I scrunched up my face and erased the board with my hand. “It’s complicated.” Erasing once more, I tried again. “My sister’s got kids of her own, a little boy and two young girls. My brother’s engaged to get married and was already testing the waters to see if I’d be willing to move out of our old family home so he and the missus could settle down there.” The board filled up and I removed the old words, Helal looking even guiltier now. “I’d kind of been feeling a little out of place helping out my brother with the farm. He loved that thing. I merely did it to have something to do, earn my keep and all that.” A final erase. The chalk squeaked, leaving its residue on the slate board. The little pieces of chalk acted as a bridge between our hearts, a trembling thing that threatened to splinter at the slightest gust as I poured my shameful truth into the open. “At least here I feel helpful. Needed.”

Trembling, I threaded my fingers through hers. Using a fingernail, I tapped the final underlined word. Helal swept me into an embrace, one arm around my waist while the other was palmed the back of my head, fingers curling around my dark locks possessively pressing me into her neck.

“I do. Need you that is,” she whispered into my ear.

Then she was gone, the cloth door to her room flapping with the haste of her passage. Shrugging, I returned to the armor, scrubbing and waiting for the chemicals or magic to do their thing. It took three coats before I had the breastplate gleaming like new. Humming a tune in my head I set about making us dinner.

Some fried sausage and potatoes with some sauteed mushrooms sounds good.

Dinner went fine, but over the next two days Helal seemed to avoid me, not maliciously, but I could feel the pressure from frustration and withdrawal build. I’d almost reached the point of boiling over and confronting her when the bell outside our tent rang. The peals were just beginning to fade when a cheerful male voice called out.

“Helal, I’m here to see your s-… ward. We’d discussed it’s problems previously, something to do with it’s control sigil having an additional component.”

Helal sprung for the door like a child on Christmas morning, her relief obvious, her more recently common expression of sterness slipping just enough to indicate the hollows stress had excavated from the corner of her eyes.

“Thank you for coming doctor.” Helal welcomed the giant of a man with a handshake and a pat on the shoulder. He had dark tan skin and was built like André the Giant. Plain tan robes hung from his frame, almost monistic in their style, they billowed enough that every motion seemed exaggerated, lending everything an air of importance.

“It’s what I’m here for,” he said matter-of-factly, rolling up his sleeves. “Now, what seems to be her problem?” His affability faded in favor of a more professional demeanor.

“As I told you earlier, his problem is that he can’t speak. We’ve had to resort to communicating through writing.”

I held up my chalkboard in what I hoped was a helpful manner.

“Hmmmm. Interesting. Well, let’s take a look.” He ruffled through his voluminous pockets. His hands emerged with a smooth trapezoidal shaped stone, about the size of a deck of playing cards, a hole the size of a quarter through the center. Holding his hands out in parallel horizontal planes, he pinched the stone between his palms. An unfelt wind stirred the tent, teasing the senses. Magic danced across the nape of my neck. Abraham’s hands separated, but the stone stayed still. Levitating, the stone remained in the exact same spot. A cold beam burned through me like a spotlight through a pane of ice. Humming, he closed an eye and looked through the stone like a scope while rotating the stone, manipulating the beam across my body. The residual cold ended at my head where it sat for a few moments.

“Hmmm,” he hummed, focusing on the sigil. Abruptly clapping his hands together around the stone, he tucked it into his robes. Snapping his fingers, a book appeared. Flipping through its pages, he sought for and found a specific passage. Using a finger, he traced the relevant text while reading.

“Hmmm,” he hummed again, more deeply and troubled this time.

The suspense grated on my nerves and I noticed the doctors demeanor was affecting Helal in much the same way.

The doctor looked closer at the sigil, invading my personal space. He arched a brow in confused interest, glancing between my forehead and the book.

I wanted to flee, but knew I shouldn’t.

That would make Helal look foolish in front of her peer. And I can’t allow that.

Clapping the book shut with one hand, he then snapped his fingers and a smaller, leather-bound journal materialized in his hand. Another snap produced a pen, which he used to immediately scribble in the journal. I glanced speculatively, going on my tiptoes, curiosity and worry overcoming my natural nervousness. With a practiced hand, the doctor was sketching the same shape I viewed on my forehead everyday in the mirror. The golden sigil that glowed surreptitiously under the lamplight looking flat and lifeless as it took shape on his page.

“Well?” Helal interrupted with poorly concealed impatience.

“Oh. Excuse me. I got caught up in my fascination of the situation. There’s nothing to be done. This is beyond me, and, seeing as I’m the most capable life mage in the troupe, well… The problem is that your servant here was naturally susceptible to magic. It’s possible that he had latent magical ability we haven’t seen yet from this plane.” He mused to himself, growing excited, returning to his sketching finishing the thing with a flourish.

“Doctor! Please?” Helal asked, just shy of pleading.

“Sorry. This is just so exciting, this will make a wonderful case study. See, it seems like his body has absorbed a portion of the sigil’s power, along with that of another source. The twin magics have collided and mixed, creating a brand new rune. Most times this sort of thing would just short out the magic, but it didn’t. That young woman has an never before seen active rune on her head.” The doctor was almost giddy with glee and excitement.

“It’s what?!” Helal nearly shouted. Grabbing me by the shoulders she spun me to get a better looked at my sigil. Her hand was warm as it held my bangs out of the way.

My body flushed with heat at her touch and closeness, and I begged any god that was listening that she wouldn’t notice.

“It doesn’t look different,” she said sceptically. Her eyes slid down from the sigil, meeting my own. Misinterpreting my expression as one of discomfort, she withdrew her hand like she’d touched a hot stove.

“Rune’s never were your strong suit Helal,” Abraham chuckled. Poking at three small lines on my forehead, he pointed out the additional portions of the sigil with the end of his pen. “Here, here, and here. It’s still fulfilling its primary function as a command seal but the roots of the magic have taken residence throughout her entire body. If I tried to remove the sigil now… I would expect a catastrophic collapse of the patients identity. At best she would be a hollow vegetable, at worst a raving animal.”

“That’s horrible,” Helal said, looking at me with pity.

“It’s an unforeseen effect,” he said, magicing away his notebook and pen. He turned and began to leave the tent. “Besides, in order to get the command sigils, she had to do something heinous. Whatever the punishment, she deserves what she gets,” he said matter-of-factly.

Helal’s fingers curled into a fist and she bit her lip hard enough to leave a bruise, propriety preventing her from spewing profanities at the useless doctor’s back. “He,” she whispered quietly to herself.

I shivered at the venom in her voice. Her eyes were hot with rage when she looked at me. Flinching, I took a step back. The fire cooled, replaced with a frustrated pain. She looked exhausted, flopping onto the couch, holding her head in her hands.

“It’s my fault,” she said dully, her voice thick like overcooked gravy. “If I hadn’t shown off. I didn’t even… I never thought… Maybe if I’d paid more attention during my studies…” She tilted her chin up, her face gaunt with guilt and pain. “I’m sorry. You’re stuck and there’s nothing…”

“It’s fine.” I scribbled down. Hurrying over, I tossed my arm across her shoulder.

“It is not fine. My magic has twisted your body and mind around such that Abraham couldn’t even keep your gender straight. My people have effectively murdered whoever you used to be, and you can’t even care. You don’t control enough of your own mind to mourn who you were. Who you could’ve been…” Her voice had dropped to a whisper. I found myself growing angry at her.

She’s being ridiculous. I’m right here. I’m not dead or murdered. Sure my life has changed. But that’s what life is. Change. What matters is that I’m happy now. Why can’t she see that?

“I think I need to be alone for a little while.” Her voice was low, defeated in a way that I’d never heard.

Well that’s not a good idea.

I clutched her tighter to me, and I could feel the tension vibrate through her body.

“Go to bed, El. I’ll see you in the morning.”

For the first time in recent memory, I fought against one of Helal’s commands. Implacable, the sigil pulled at my strings, making me woodenly rise from the couch and head toward my bedroom.

I lay in bed fuming, mad as hell, frustrated and more than a little horny. Experience had sunk too deep in my bones, associating obedience with pleasure. Fumbling around beneath my clothes and bedsheets, fingers found soft but sensitive flesh. Thoughts of Helal’s hands, lips, and breasts flowed through my mind as the heat from my anger shifted toward arousal. Blood began pooling, making my dick firm under my ministrations. The sensations were the same as each of the last hundred times I’d provided a little self-gratification, and yet… There was something different, something extra building down there. A tingling sensation grew stronger just beneath my balls, the skin on my upper taint pebbling with goosebumps. Gasping, I began to tug on my feverish erection, pleasure spiking rapidly. My knees splayed out wide, pulling the covers close, making me feel overly hot, sweat forming on my brow. My testicles twinged and I rolled, first left and then right, trying to find an position to soothe these urges that were stampeding through my veins. The wraps around my breasts pinched, my nipples pressing into the fabric. My free hand grasped the plump sensitive flesh of my feminine bosom, a flower of release just taking root in the fertile soil of my body. The loose folds of my sack tightened, much like they would if dipped into cold water, pulling them close to my body. A thin tendril burrowed downward from the surface, nerves and muscles just beginning to gestate. My flesh quickened, the sigil working in overdrive, magic pulsing brighter than it ever had before. My groans would’ve been guttural, animalistic even, had I been capable of uttering them. The magic tore through my body like a buckshot through tissue paper. The tendril running into my body tightened clenching hard before releasing. Only to repeat the process; each iteration expanded upon the last, forming a tube of delicate, spongy flesh. The roots of my release spread, its bud forming while my dick pulsed with a hungry pulsing heat under my palm. My nuts dissolved into my body like sugar cubes dropped into water. Instead of loss, my mind was focused on the incredible sensations pouring through my body. The loose folds of my fat was pulled taught, like an animal skin over a drum. Then a scalpel pulled across its length, the flesh parting, forming a welcoming valley of femininity, labia ruffling into fleshy folds, acting as gates for my vagina.

Gaping fleshy gates that ache with want for touch.

The final piece kicked into place and orgasm scorched through my limbs like a kick from a mule. Pearly white seed spilt from my turgid dick that poked out from my pants, collecting into uncomfortable piles on my chest. Seemingly endless, my release raged on, my rune flashing brightly while my penis continued to pulse with blood, throbbing pleasurable with each stroke.

My words were lost to the void, obscenities never to be heard as I sought to surf through the swell of sensations. The sigil on my head flickered and went dark as my orgasm finally released its hold over my body.

“Helal,” I whispered adoringly into the oppressive humidity of my room. I was so lost in the afterglow that I failed to notice that I’d actually spoken the word out loud. The light on my forehead reignited, but the torch was a feeble flickering thing compared to its previous strength. My seed congealed on my stomach and I sighed. Getting up to go to the bathroom, I didn’t think of the consequences of my motion until I was in the middle of the hallway.

I froze, like a possum.

What if Helal is still around? If she saw me like this she’d send me away for sure.

Straining my ears, I listened, a frightened rabbit searching for a predator.

Silence.

Letting out my breath, I continued on towards the bathroom. Soaking in the tub, I sighed under the warm water’s embrace. My fear and nerves about Helal’s reaction were placed on the backburner, my mind drifting freely on the gentle waves of sexual contentment. My breasts bobbed out of the tub, their wet soft flesh still astonishing and slightly arousing to see on my own chest. My fingers traced a curve, following to my shoulder and down the opposite arm.

That’s strange.

My skin was softer than I remembered and the patchy arm hair that once poked its way like wild grasses out my skin now floated dully in the bathwater. Where once was untamed wilderness was now rolling hills of delightful smoothness. My new sleekness continued down my arms and hands. Further examination of my legs and crotch showed that the only stray hair left on my body was a patch of soft pubic curls on my crotch. Even my upper lip was smooth, absent of my usual day old five o’clock shadow. My plump lip parted as my finger traced their shape. I jerked out of my daze before I went any farther.

Whew. That was a close one.

Hauling myself out of the tub, the bathroom air helped cool my ardor somewhat.

I can’t have myself losing control. No telling when Helal might get back, and I want to be on my best behavior.

Drying myself off, I bostered my mind with determination.

I won’t let her push me away. I’ll make myself indispensable to her. Then she’ll never be rid of me. I just have to control these sexual urges and I’ll be fine.

I groaned silently at the seeming impossibility of the task.

Sure I can, when hell freezes over.

The next day a magical mix of cinnamon, sugar, sliced apples, and pastry dough took shape before my eyes, hands crimping the edges of an apple pie. The finishing touches of a special desert I hoped Helal would enjoy. I examined my creation with a critical eye and found it acceptable.

Just like you used to make, mom. I hope you’d be proud of me. I’ve finally found happiness, of a sort.

I placed the prepared pastry in the small wooden box, sliding a toggle on the outside to the correct temperature. The microwave sized magical oven was a new gift from Helal, as I’d confided my frustration at the limitations my lack of modern appliances had caused. I’d decided to reward her with the pie as my way of saying thanks.

There was also something else. A secret that loomed like a giant obelisk between us that I meant to rectify tonight.

I hope I don’t screw up our relationship beyond redemption.

Snapped my fingers, I captured her attention and she looked up from her notes. My feet folded beneath me on the couch. My hands trembled with nervousness as I smoothed the wrinkles from my apron. I couldn’t look at her; couldn’t meet her eyes. My attention focused on the board and the words I placed upon its surface. Line by line, I placed my past on the porous slate. Each section erased with a sweaty palm. Newborn words placed over ghosts of their forebears only to become ghosts in turn. Brick by brick I told the story of how I came to be captured.

“It was just like any normal afternoon. I was walking the fields. Picking weeds with my brother Jessie, talking about our college’s latest basketball game. Our boots were damp with last night’s rain. We heard the heavy slap of hoofbeats before we saw anything. Jessie seemed on edge, having heard the recent news about the ‘crusaders’ and their strange medieval appearance. I had written off the reports as nonsense, fantastical imaginings by people too drunk or stoned without a single reliable witness yet. Then she crested the hill.

Maybe a hundred yards or so away, she rode proud in her saddle, blonde hair pulled back into a braid that hung down her back. The tip of a spear poked out from behind her shoulder and she wore simplistic but well cared for armor. Jessie called out a nervous greeting, but the woman didn’t respond. The woman unlimbered a bow incredibly fast and before I could even speak, had shot an arrow our direction. Jessie shouted while I stood frozen. The arrow, a glittering crystalline sliver, exploded in a cloud of silvery confetti after it hit the ground at my feet. I looked up and met her eyes, strangely calm and not threatening. She looked so young but capable on that hill. Then…”

My hand trembled so much the writing became illegible. Tears falling from my eyes onto the board, messing up the words there while distorting my vision. Helal grasped my hand, seeking to comfort me, but I flinched. A silent hiccuping sob convulsing my chest before I continued, on the verge of complete breakdown.

“A gunshot rang out, silencing the world.

I stood there in shock, my ears ringing. The woman toppled out of her saddle, collapsing to the ground in a heap. My brother shouted my name, calling me Lil, and my world snapped into place, my brain overclocking as I tried to figure out what to do. Ambulance, was my first thought. Stop, the bleeding was my second. Running towards the woman, I was astonished Jessie’s shot had even connected. He’d taken me to the range before so I knew how difficult it was to hit a target at that distance. I yelled back at him to call for an ambulance. Blood. Blood everywhere. And her eyes, green and panicked. I tried to reassure her but I knew that I was responsible for this. By failing to act, I killed her as surely as if I’d pulled the trigger myself. There were muted pops, but I kept my hands over the hole in her chest, desperately pressing down while praying to any god that cared to listen to keep her alive. The last thing I remember was a glittering dust and strong hands tugging me away from her too still form. I awoke in a cell, manacles on my wrists and neck, completely naked.”

I dared glance up through the hanging curtain of my inky bangs.

Just like I thought. Now that she knows the truth she’ll cast me out. It’s nothing more than I deserve.

Helal trembled with an unholy rage, her eyes slitted, hands clenched at her side. Shrinking on myself like a popped balloon, my shoulders drooped.

She’s right to be mad, it’s the reasonable response, knowing the kind of person she’s shared her home with.

“I’m sorry,” I wrote pathetically, struggling to keep the tears from falling. Retreating inside my emotional shell, I threw up my defenses, unwilling to make myself vulnerable for any additional pain.

It’s only right. I don’t deserve any kindness.

“You’re innocent…”

I began to furiously scribble but she intercepted my hand, shutting me down.

“No. Look at me.”

I had no choice but to do as she said.

“It’s my turn to talk.”

She’s gonna send me away. Probably to a work camp or sewage duty or something more appropriate.

Anxiety made my extremities run cold, and I hugged them to my chest, instinctively covering up my core.

“You did nothing wrong El. It’s through no misdeed of your own that my comrade died. It was a result of bad circumstances and misinformation.”

My ears burned red and if I could speak I would be disagreeing with her, the guilt was a swarm of molten butterflies that fluttered in my stomach.

She took my hands, covering my chilled fingers with her warmth. “And it’s my people’s fault that you’re here. You are guilty of nothing-”

I shook my head, breaking our link, and looking at the floor. I attempted to step away from her but was stopped by a small command.

“Stop.”

Not having a choice, I did as she said.

Tears leaked down her cheeks, dripping off her chin, her guilty look only becoming more pronounced. “See how easy it is for me fall onto the low path of your jailor? You deserve none of what’s happened to you. And yet…” Her warm palm met my cheek. A gentle brush of her thumb cleared my skin of tears. “There is a part of me that’s glad. It’s not a part I like, but it is there. A greedy demon that is thrilled with knowing you are under its… Under my, power. You’ve enriched my life El, brought companionship to the darkness I’d languished in unknowingly. The thought of freeing you… Of you leaving…” Her voice, thick with emotion trailed off. She swept me into a much needed embrace, enveloping me with safety, caring, and warmth. My chin nestled into her neck, her knees bent slightly, allowing us to fit so neatly together. Arms held me close but delicately, as if she was afraid I would shatter like fine porcelain.

“You care El. Perhaps too deeply… And that makes me want to shield you from this world all the more. It hurts. My chest aches with the knowledge that my people were the ones that did this to you. You, the innocent and undeserving.” She pried her fingers away, curled into arthritic looking claws as she created distance. “I’ve made it my life’s mission to punish the guilty El. In all my life…” Her finger brushed my cheek. “In all my life, I’ve never met a more pure soul than yours El.”

I let out a choking, awkward laugh into the nothingness, unheard but by my breaking heart.

“There’s that smile,” she said with affection, at odds with the pain in her eyes. “See, we’ll be okay,” she said, but it was more like a question than a statement, full of uncertainty. “You are brilliant and caring El, promise me you never change that.”

I nodded under her stare and she seemed relieved.

“Good. It would crush me if I was part of something that made you bitter.”

Why does this feel like a goodbye?

A cold sweat chilled my soul. A shaky hand snagged my board, cradling it close while I scribbled. “May I do something?” I wrote.

“Of course. You don’t have to ask my permission. You should know that by-”

Her lips tasted as sweet as my imaginings. Together we caressed and tumbled our way through our first kiss and the moment stretched out into a blissful forever. But, like all forevers, it ended, Helal pushing me away from her. Muscles I admired in my daydreams now acting against me.

I knew it. She doesn’t see me in that way.

My fears confirmed, tears sprung into the corners of my eyes and I turned my back to her. Before I could escape, she swept forward, spooning me in another teddy bear embrace.

I tensed, just for a second. Melting into her grasp felt like wrapping up in a cozy blanket with a hot cup of cocoa during the holidays with my family.

It felt like home.

“It isn’t right El,” she said, matter-of-factly.

Not right? She’s a woman and I’m a… mostly a… slightly a man.

…

I guess I see how she could have a problem with what I’ve become.

In my emotional state I didn’t realize the foolishness of this thought, because I still hadn’t told her the extent of the changes that’d been wrought on my body, projecting my fears of her future reaction onto the present.

Wilting, I grasped at her arms, covering them with my own and pinning them to me.

“Us… We can’t…” Her voice was anguished, the words refusing to form cleanly.

Suddenly, her touch was too much. Turning on me, her embrace turned into fools gold, sparkly to they eye but having no deeper substance or value. Squirming, I sought to free myself but Helal only gripped me tighter.

Stretching, I snagged my board. “Let me go.”

“No,” she said, her voice sullenly, almost petulant.

“Please. It hurts too much.”

She released me like I was on fire.

Spinning me around with a tango-esque move, she examined the places she’d held me. Although her closeness thrilled my flesh, I was less enthusiastic than I might have been, considering what I had to tell her.

“You seem fine,” she said after finishing her diagnosis.

“It’s not that kind of hurt.” Tears made a mess of my vision but refused to fall, hanging off the edge of my eyes with fat droplets.

“Oh.” She seemed to crumple like a pop can placed under a vacuum. “Oh,” she repeated quietly. She considered that for a moment and took another step back, nervously playing with her wrist. “I think I might be able to fix that… If you want… With a command I mean. Although maybe my personality is doing a good enough job of poisoning your attraction for me,” she said, chuckling without mirth at her own lame joke. Her eyes looked haunted, like a mouse backed into a corner.

Chalk squealed as it lost chunks to my furious writing. “Don’t. You. Dare!!” Knuckles white where they gripped the slate, I stabbed my communication device through the air at her face.

She took another step back, retreating before the venom of my approach, unnerved by the heretofore unseen passion in my eyes. Somehow, despite raising my ire, she seemed to relax a little.

Using my palm, I swiped away my writing. Raging emotions bade me to continue writing.” I normally like your commands. But I couldn’t forgive that one.”

I’d been so incensed by the thought of her stealing my attraction from me that I didn’t realize the admission I’d made until I saw her astonished smile.

“You like being commanded by me?”

Bashfulness replaced passion with astonishing celerity. I paused for a long minute before wilting beneath her silent, inquisitive gaze. “I mean… a little,” the final words tiny enough that they forced Helal to squint to read them.

With predatory glee, she flashed her teeth at me, her brown eyes smoldering with reflected lamplight.

Then her fire flickered.

“It’s still not right,” she echoed her words from earlier.

“Why not?” I wrote. At this point, I was fairly certain it was not a lack of interest, judging from her recent reactions. “I want you, you want me. Why can’t we see where we can go together?”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“For you?”

She scoffed. “For you!” She yelled, her frustration finally reaching the boiling point, spilling forth from her brain to her vocal chords, bypassing her filter. Brown eyes flashed gold, as she clenched her hand. A gleaming hilt of sunlight began to pour into an unseen mold, the blade following shortly thereafter. My eyes were locked onto the dangerous looking edge and for the second time in her presence, I felt very real fear.

“I can’t help myself around you. I yearn to possess you El. You have no idea. I’ve seen the looks you’ve sent my way on the sly, how could I not. That doesn’t make it right. Obsessed. That’s the best word for what I feel towards you. But every word I say is a potential noose around your neck. One wrong move at the wrong time and you’re gone. Do you know what kind of burden that places on me?” she cried. The molten yellow orange blade was maybe a foot long and flared with every impassioned word, light spilling out into the room and illuminating it like the midday sun.

“Fuck. Now it sounds like I’m blaming you for my worries and the sins of my race. No. It’s not only the sins of my race. They’re my sins too. I’m complicit. I’m the worst sort of hypocrite, wailing about the unfairness of your imprisonment but profiting from it all the same.” She finally looked at me seeing the fear in my posture and the blade clasped in her hand. “No…” she said, banishing the blade. “I didn’t mean to…” The damn burst and she flopped onto the couch, “I never meant to scare you,” she sobbed into her hands.

Conquering my fear at her inadvertent posturing, I moved forward and sat beside her. I was at the same time horrified and honored that I’d reduced this proud woman to this quivering wreck. Patting her leg, I frowned as I left behind a white handprint on her cotton leggings. She didn’t seem to notice, reaching for my hand and taking it firmly into her own, threading our fingers together.

“The truth is I’m sweet for you El, but everytime I think of doing something about it I start to consider all the ways this could go poorly. It hurts… but I need some space. I can’t think straight when you’re this close to me.” The fabric of her shirt wrinkled under her grasp after she gently disentangled from my grasp.

No. Don’t…

“Head to your room. I need a clear head while I think about how to handle our… situation,” her voice was flat and lifeless. Turning her head away, she looked like a death row inmate facing execution.

The sigil on my head sparked, preparing to enforce her command. Only to fizzle, a candle fighting against a hurricane as the magic finally ran out. My despair stained my tongue with a bitter taste as I prepared to fight against her command. Throwing my arms around her waist, I buried my face in her stomach, wishing for just one more moment of her sweet aroma.

I shake my head, for the first time in our relationship refusing to follow an order.

Then it hits us, the realization of just what that meant.

She blinked.

Then I blinked.

Then we blinked together as a slow smirk curled across her lips. It didn’t quite graduate to a full fledged smile as I launched myself up her torso, catching her lips in my own, my hands falling on her waist while hers caught my face. A laugh, high pitched and delicate, like moonlight spun into musical notes, slipped from my lips, magic no longer rendering me silent. Once more we freeze, astonished by the events that were happening. Lips parted, I trace my upper ones length with a finger, the soft flesh strange to me, much like the sound I’d made.

Helal’s eyes were disbelieving as she brushed a lock of violet-black hair back from my eyes, whose glittering jade irises refused deviate from hers for even an instant. She draws me close, kissing the skin of my forehead delicately. My eyes find the chalky handprint I’d left earlier, and I nervously used my thumbs to clean the fabric.

“How long?”

“I don’t know. Just now,” I whispered. My voice was light and feathery, an clear elfin chime that was pleasing while at the same time being deeply unnerving when compared to the memory of how I used to sound.

“You don’t have to follow my commands anymore…” Helal traced the threads of the logic to their inevitable conclusion.

I was reeling almost as her, answered as if she’d said it to me. “I mean… I don’t think so.”

“Which means I get to do this.” Her brown eyes flashed brightly. Squeezing my shoulders she spun me around, pinning me to the couch, looming over me with predatory hunger. My awareness shrunk until it was just the two of us, nothing else existed in the world but us.

“Let’s see how well you can resist. I’ll reward you if you’re able to deny my orders. El, undress me.” Her eyes promised delectably indecent acts.

I whined. A thin plaintive sound that slipped from my lips. My fingers itched to slide between cloth and skin before parting the two, revealing her velvet skin. The sigil may have been gone, but it’s influence could still be felt, my body indoctrinated by my time spent under its control, urging me to follow her command, promising sweet sensations in payment.

“Not fair,” I pouted. I found my fingers reaching out without my explicit consent, forcing me to sit on them to keep them honest. “I’m too far gone. I ache for you. Please stop this torment.”

Helal chuckled. “This is not torment. You just stay there El, we’ll see how much torment you can take.” She had the same excitement as a child whose just been told it’s finally time to unwrap their christmas presents, and she intended to peel my clothes off with the same amount of joy. Fingers ran under the edge of my top, teasing the skin on my stomach, forcing me to gasp. Peering through the gap between our breasts, I watched with naked anticipation as she slowly walked her hand up my navel, bunching the fabric as she went to reveal a swath of my overly hot skin.

“Stay quiet.” She bounced her eyebrows, reminding me of her promised reward if I didn’t do what she dictated.

It’s a very naughty reverse Simon Says.

My gasps were feminine and wanton, but I couldn’t bring myself to care as my body continued to work itself into a higher gear. Dipping her arm, she lowered her head to lick and nuzzle at the sensitive skin of my neck. Her movement had the additional effect of bringing our breasts together, my nipples made plump by the tightening of cloth against their delicate nerves.

“So good,” I whispered plaintively. “Too good. You’re too good for me. Don’t deserve this. Don’t deserve you.”

She frowned at me, dominance flooding her posture as she hunched over me, fingers digging into my skin, nails biting on the verge of scratching. “You’re. Wrong. You’re too good for me.” Sparks of liquid light began to arc out of her back like plasma from the sun, snakes dancing in and out of her flesh in undulating waves. The unseen potential built in the room, magic growing in tandem with the sexual chemistry that built like vinegar dropped in a middle school science project. Then her hand reached the edge of the wrap I used to bind my breasts flat to my torso. She stilled, puzzlement obvious as her fingers explored the frayed edge of the bandage.

“What’s this?”

“Nothing,” I murmured while trying to catch her hand with my own.

She dodged effortlessly, and began to tug on the wrap, making it come free. Whimpering, I arched my back, pressing my sex firmly into her body while pressing the cloth into the couch, making it harder to continue unwrapping me.

“Up. Now,” she said in a tone that brooked no argument.

Her tone sent shivers through my spine, my fight or flight response sitting up and taking notice, dragging arousal right along with it like an excited sibling. I stopped resisting as she slowly removed the tight wrap after she pulled my top off of my head. Anxiety ran through my veins while my modified body was examined for the first time.

They feel really big. I bet they’re too big. There’s no way she could be attracted-

“Amazing,” Helal whispered to herself. A hand cupped supple flesh, sending a curl of pleasure through my body.

“Exquisite,” she continued, her other hand joining the party. She planted a chaste kiss on each of my nipples and a thin whine slipped from my lips, the tender touch of her tongue only enough to whet my appetite, not anywhere close to satisfying the need that was rising with the force of the tide through my body.

Her eyes wandered southward and I found a heavier dose of anxiety flooding from the instinctive part of my brain that fired the warning claxons, trying to alert me to imminent danger. I was only able to start the motion to cover up with my hands before she stopped me cold with a single glance and associated eyebrow arch.

Her smile froze on her face as her fingers explored all the secret, sensitive nooks and crannies that burned in the damp darkness beneath the cloth. A tender hand caressed around my penis and it throbbed, constrained as it was in the tight confines of my underwear. My pussy weeped when Helal’s nail teased the bundle of nerves that crowned its top.

“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you.”

That’s not the reaction I was expecting.

“You’re not mad. Or… turned off?” I asked in a small voice, hiding my face behind my hands.

“No sweet one. I am not turned off by your body’s seemingly endless ability to astonish.”

“It’s just, I happened to experience your sexual stone, and I understand that this isn’t your preference.”

She stilled again. “That explains a few things. Also, that means someone was naughty,” she purred the word sensually, like it was a good thing, and I felt my knees go weak. “Poking around where they don’t belong. And my preferences, as you say, are more than capable of encompassing both your rod and flower.” She rolled the r on flower and it made me shiver. Strong fingers slid my pants and underwear off in one smooth motion, tossing them into the air to fall to the rugs on the floor.

Spreading my fingers, I peered through them at Helal, her stance predatory looming over me from the edge of the bed. It struck me how similar this situation was to the one I’d experienced during my interaction with her gem. Only instead of forcing herself over me like what I’d done in the vision – something I would relish – she went to her knees, stimulating my penis with slow strokes while she kissed my sensitive inner thigh. The spot her lips touched throbbed with warmth and she moved down my leg, away from my needy sexes that burned for attention. Another kiss seared my skin and she continued moving toward my knee. It wasn’t until the fourth kiss that I realized that the heat didn’t leave my skin. Everyplace she’d kiss pulsed with each subsequent one. A landing strip that strobbed with warmth as it led to my promised land. Mute with anticipation and need, I watched as she continued her steady seduction of my body, my flesh yielding contentedly to her touch. Anticipation buzzed excitedly after she finished a kiss on my knee, ascending back toward my groin where her slow stroking hand continued to play across my erection. A warmth built in my gut, vying for attention with a familiar tension that came from Helal’s relaxed handjob. They didn’t seesaw back and forth, instead rising together towards a crescendo that I wasn’t sure I could survive. She murmured unseen words, planting a too soft kiss on my sodden labia before laying her lips on my other thigh, a mirror of the one that pulsed steadily. She continued her tapestry, every kiss accompanying a stroke. I groaned piteously, my fingers fisting the comforter as I writhed. Eventually, she judged me sufficiently softened, like butter left on the countertop, and she returned to my folds.

“I’m going to enjoy this. See that you do to,” she said with flashing eyes, leaning to the side to peer around my dick.

“Of course- Unngghh.” Whatever I’d been about to say was lost. Abandoned in the feeling of her tongue slipping between the lips of my pussy, teasing me in just the right way. She played by body like a beloved instrument, reverently, with care and attention. Her fingers were her tools and she conducted a symphony the likes of which I’d never previously felt.

For her, I sang.

With stuttering fits and uneven starts, an entwined orgasm sputtered through my body. It built and built, growing larger with every second, my eyes wide, pupils dilated, staring at the ceiling as I wondered just how far this would go and whether or not I could survive the onslaught.

“That’s right. Exquisite,” Helal whispered proudly, drawing my eyes downwards. Green met brown, and I could feel her pride in the culmination of our one sided tango. That encouragement was all I needed, my mind finally relaxing, surrendering to the partially alien orgasm she’d wrung from both my sexes. “Sweet like honey.” She licked my juices off her lips with relish. Exultant in forcing my release, she was radiant.

Literally.

Giant golden wings of her light spread wide from her back, nearly touching the edges of the tent fully outstretched as they were. Feathers were laid out in organized rows along the muscular appendages, yellows, oranges, and reds that overlapped into a shining mosaic that backlight her luscious hair like stained glass in a church catching the morning sun.

The entire visage was nothing short of…

Angelic.

That was the only word I could think of to describe it. Helal didn’t seem to notice the appearance of her bird-like appendages, so focused was she on my release that only now unclasped its grip on my body, allowing the tension to unwind. I melted bonelessly into the couch.

A hand traced the sweat soaked valley between my breasts, Helal either unwilling or unable to spend a moment not lavishing her attention upon my body. I swooned under her care, allowing my hands to stroke her unfortunately still clothed thighs as the straddled my own. Shuffling from the bed, she retreated, tossing her mane of hair behind her shoulders with a deft shake of her head. She smirked at me and began undressing. Clothing abandoned, she stood before me in all her svelte muscled glory.

Just like the vision.

Shaking of the intense déjà vu, I was struck by how exposed I was, laying in this pose. Obscuring my mons, my fingers curled through the course patch of hair.

Sauntering toward me, Helal waggled a finger in the negative. “Tsk tsk tsk. We can’t be having that.” She smiled at me and I shivered with renewed arousal. She crossed her arms under her tantalizing breasts and stood there, waiting. It took a moment for me to understand what she was waiting for. She started tapping her toe, eyes darting once to my crotch before returning to my face.

Oh.

My fingers waggled with uncertainty as they uncovered my feminine sex. The comforter bunched between my fingers.

Her eyes came alive in obvious appreciation of the view, but her stance didn’t change. “Better. But I think you can do more. I’ll give you another present if you do your very best.”

“But you didn’t even give me a…”

She arched a brow.

“Oh. Oh.” I weighed my shame and modesty against the feelings she’d elicited from me with her fingers and tongue.

It wasn’t even close.

Shy fingers traced the lines of my hips up to cup the sensitive swell of my breasts on their way to tease my locks. Demurely shading my eyes, I focused on the keeping my movements slow and seductive.

Blurring with incredible speed, Helal leapt on me. Capturing my wrists in her hands, she peppered my face with multitudes of kisses. “So lovely. You don’t even know. Exquisite.” She rained compliments upon me in between her kisses. Slyly, she maneuvered my arms until I was spreads out wide. Her eyes glinted with the expression I recognized as the one she used when channeling magic. Taking my bottom lip between her teeth she tugged on it while she retreated. Breathless, I went to touch the aching spot only to find my movement restricted. Lithe muscles crafted under Helal’s care bunched in surprise as I tested the restraints. There was no give to them and an animalistic thrill flooded my brain when it realized I was trapped.

Her fingernail clinked against the metal around my neck. “Nowhere to go, little El. Now you’re all mine.” Reaching back, she poked the tip of my dick, which throbbed under the attention. “Stay with El, we’re in for a wild ride.” Then with a lithe roll of her hips, her wet pussy swallowed my erection. A groan of delight slipped from her lips as she stilled atop me. Her wings manifested, twin golden patchwork masterpieces lighting up her silhouette with biblical majesty. Then she was off to the races, her pussy slicking wetly, lewd noises accompanying every slap of her flesh into my own. There was a part of me that wanted to make this experience last.

But that part was lost in the cacophony of sensations Helal wrung from my body. This was no gently, caring affair. It was an inferno, and we were both caught up in the blaze.

The tension curled in my groin and I felt my orgasm spin its wheels at the starting line.

No don’t. Not yet…

Helal’s pussy fluttered around me and she released a breathy cry.

That was all it took to force me over the edge. My penis pulsed, spilling my seed into her ardent folds.

Tumbling together into blissful stupor, we found our release together. Thoughts lacked importance for a time. Contentedness swam through our veins as we basked in our afterglow. We relaxed together, satisfied by the events of the evening. Between my confession and the revelatory sexual experiences, I felt like a brand new person. She rolled off me, releasing our sexes but not her embrace. Comfortable in Helal’s arms, I drifted on a cloud of pleasant thoughts. She played idly with my hair, one hand scratching at my scalp while the other teased the ends of a few strands between her thumb and forefinger.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Helal broke the silence with a timid question.

“About what?” I smiled at our easy communication, different from what I’d become accustomed to with the chalkboard.

“About the changes that were happening to your body. I noticed a few while they happened. How could I not? But I didn’t want to intrude. I thought we were… if not friends, then close.”

I wriggled against her body, still uncomfortable with the thought that something I’d done had made her unhappy; the habit had been so ingrained in my psyche by the now defunct rune that it was now instinctual.

“We were. We are,” I said, snuggling deeper into her as I sought for the words I could use to explain. “It wasn’t you, it was me.” Pausing, I played back what I’d just said and laughed. “That’s not- What I meant to say is that I was the one who was frightened.”

Helal stilled, a dangerous sadness spilling out of her.

“I suck at this.” I humphed, grabbing her in a one sided hug, burying my face in her naked breasts.

Silken flesh lend me your courage.

“All the wrong words. I was scared not of you or anything you’d done. But of losing you. My world was uprooted. Plucked from my home, I was placed into your care. Losing my life, my family, my voice. It took some time to find my footing. Then, when I was just settling down, my own body started to twist. I didn’t tell you because I was worried how you would look at me if you knew. I had no idea what would happen. Maybe you’d ship me away. Maybe duty would force you to turn me in for some kind of experiment. These were amongst my greatest fears. They seem foolish now but, at the time, the made for a significant number of sleepless nights.”

The silence slipped in like a sulky party guest, unwanted but neither of us were willing to kick it out.

“I’m sorry if I made you feel that way.”

“You don’t have to-”

“Silly El.” She hoisted me up and silenced me with a kiss, partially dispelling the gloomy atmosphere. “You should know that I like to call the shots. If I want to apologize, I get to.”

“Okay,” I whispered breathlessly, air stolen by her uncompromising kiss. “But I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have hidden things from you.”

She laughed softly. “Fine. We were both at fault. But honesty from now on, okay?”

“Sounds goods.” My breath teased the skin of her clavicle, legs draped over her own. The blanket was drawn over both our bodies and we relaxed into a comfortable sleep. In the middle of the night, a strange feeling against my senses woke me up.

There was a shape curling through the air, a vision not quite seen. Reaching out a hand, I curled my fingers around it, cradling the energy in my palm. A little sproutling spread two adorable leaves to the sky, seeking light while inhaling carbon dioxide for the first time. Surprised, I went from blearly to fully awake in an instant.

“Helal. Helal. Look what I can do,” I said in an excited whisper, shaking her awake.

“Wha-” she said rubbing sleep from her eyes, propping herself up in the bed. Upon seeing the plant in my hand she froze. Blinking rapidly did nothing to dispel what she was seeing. “How?”

“I don’t know. There was this…” I struggled to find the word. “Thing. And I reached out and then- Poof. Little plant in hand. Pretty cool, right? I wonder if it’s better than two in the bush?” I joked.

She covered the little sproutling with her left hand, looking around nervously.

“Hey-” I started but she cut me off with a look.

She began to speak in low hushed tones, “Look you have to-” Her eyes fluttered and she fell silent.

I felt pulling sensation like I was a balloon filled with helium and Helal had just taken a deep puff. Only instead of speaking in a funny high pitched voice, a sunforged blade was summoned to her hand, slicing through the bedding and into the floor with the hiss of water on molten metal.

“Eeep!” I squeaked falling backwards off the bed onto my back, my legs splayed up wide, baring my nethers to the equally surprised Helal.

“I manifested my wings?” she said, eyes the size of silver dollars.

“Don’t worry, I thought they were beautiful. A kaleidoscope of stained glass catching the rising sun.”

“That’s not… You don’t understand. I shouldn’t be able to manifest on this plane. Not fully, like you’re describing. We’ve had to use tools to access the ambient energy, such as the melnad. God’s been desperate to find a mechanism to allow for the full use of our abilities. And I think I just found it.”

Growing worried, I folded my arms across my chest, hunching my shoulders up. “What does that mean?”

“It means we’re in greater trouble than I previously thought.” Tension, ran in waves across Helal’s flesh as she contemplated our situation.

“Maybe we can just keep it secret. No one knows but the two of us.”

She shook her head. “That works in the short term. But these things tend to have a way of coming out when its most problematic. No. We need to get ahead of this thing. We need to-” She paused, and her demeanor changed, a confident smile ripping across her face as she narrowed her eyes at me.

“What?”

“I’ve been approaching this from the wrong direction. It’s also a solution. With you I can-” She stopped talking suddenly. A realization crossing her face, an expression almost like she’d been stabbed. “I’m still doing it.” Her voice was soft and broken. “Treating you like a slave.” Brown eyes were wild, thoughtlessly staring into an empty void.

Hooking my arms around her head, I pull our foreheads together.

“Hey. Hey. Where’d you go? Come back to me.”

“I’m still treating you like a slave. Deciding everything for you, just assuming you’ll go along with my plan. Do you even want to be with me?”

I stifle a laugh by pinching my lips. Her lack of confidence a little adorable and a lot endearing.

This is the woman who had a full grown man trembling in his boots when she dropped me off.

“Ask me if I feel like a slave?”

“Do you?” she asked, pulling away from me.

“No. Of course not. I like your confidence and dominance, but I’m not a pushover. You step out of line, and I’ll let you know it.”

“You would wouldn’t you?” she asked regaining some strength.

“Yep. And besides, I’m with you in this, and who would you rather have planning things, a confident alien invader, or a gender confused ex-farmer?”

“I’m not an alien,” she grumbled.

“Semantics. If it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck…”

“I do not quack. Nor do I walk like a duck.”

I have to muffle another laugh. “I love you. Never change.”

“You do?” she asked in one of the most insecure voices I’d ever heard, the hope in her eyes as visible as thousand watt light bulbs.

So sweet.

“Well… yeah. Otherwise I wouldn’t have said it.” I’d never had it feel so easy and natural to be that honest about my feelings, with anyone.

Taking a moment to process, she frowned. “I don’t think… I don’t think I can say it back. Not yet.”

This time I do laugh. “It’s not a transaction. Just because I feel comfortable enough to say it doesn’t mean that you do. I know my feelings aren’t entirely au naturale,” I said in a foreign accent. “But they’re still mine. That’s why I was so angry when you said you’d take them away.”

“I do care for you El. You know that right?”

“I’d hope so considering the things we did together yesterday.” I fake fanned my face at the memory. Although a very real blush did rosy up my cheeks.

Relief replaced worry on her face as Helal regained her normal composure. Swooping forward, she swept me up in a scorching kiss that had me swooning in her arms.

“Then it’s decided. Stay right here. I need the… I’m gonna go get something.” Helal was almost giddy, childlike in her excitement.

I lounged on the bed not moving until she returned five minutes later with a bowl of sloshing water that refused to splash over the sides.

“What’s that?” I asked, peering over the edge of the bowl. There was nothing extraordinary about the water. The still surface dutifully reflecting the ceiling and Helal’s beautiful sunset hair.

“This, is a scrying basin, and, ever since we’ve entered this world, it has lain in a supply closet, dead and useless due to the energy requirements to make it work.”

Setting her hands on the basin, she scrunched her face in obvious concentration. Intrigued, I focused my attention on the surface of the water. For a few long moments, nothing happened. Then, the water rippled becoming opaque, as if a dense fog slithered just below the surface. Shapes twirled in the water, but, just before they could resolve, my angel released the basin with a weary sigh.

“Was that what was supposed to happen?” I asked. Scratching idly at her back, I waited for her to recover.

“No… and yes. This is what I expected to happen with me trying to activate it by myself. Now, if I try to channel it through you…” A hand landed on my shoulder, followed shortly by a rush of sensation that made the hairs on my arm stand up straight. The water in the bowl bubbled and swirled, settling quickly into a clear image of a wooden ball about the size of a grapefruit, every centimeter covered with tiny runes that glittered translucently.

“Voila. Easy as pie.”

Amazed, I looked at her with wide eyes. She swept me up into a kiss, holding me tight while spinning me around. Her wings manifested in their unearthly splendor, wrapping us in a web of warm light. Her eyes danced with excitement as she released me.

“First things first. We need to get you out of those restraints.”

“But… I kind of like them,” I admitted. Embarrassed, I rubbed at the metal while Helal smiled indulgently at me.

“As long as I’m with you, I can make you some new ones.” Palming my cheek, she waved her other hand and a new golden restraint glimmered into being just above the existing one. “I’ve no problem exploring your kinks together. But for now, we need to be practical. Okay sweetie?”

“I don’t have kinks,” I denied reflexively.

Snorting she gave me a look that said, ‘Really?’. Materializing a chain, she tugged on it with a jerk. The manacle pulled at my hand while radiating my flesh with a dull warmth. Inhaling sharply my eyes went wide, arousal thrilling as it poured into my sexes.

She released my cheek and the conjured restraint and chain dissolved into the aether. “You were saying.”

“Maybe I have the teeniest, littlest bit of a submissive streak,” I said with a shy smile.

“Glad to hear it. Never would have guessed. Is it okay if I take them off now El?”

“Sure.”

She grabbed my arm and then frowned. Twirling, she spun us so that she was seated on the couch with me in her lap. “Much better.” Our hand entwined between our bodies and her eyes flashed gold. Little chunks began to disappear from my manacles, accompanied by little flashes of firecracker light. It was looked like dozens of invisible piranhas were taking turns chomping chunks from the betal structure. Shaking my wrists they slid from my arms onto the rugs with solid thuds. My arms felt light as feathers.

I don’t know what I suspected, but it certainly wasn’t this.

Helal captured my hands and laced our fingers together. Her eyes flashed again and she leaned forward, placing three kisses on my neck just beneath my ear. She moved away and she delicately removed the metal collar, tossing it to the floor to land next to its brothers. Her arms curled around my waist and she laid the hollow of her chin along the unadorned crook of my shoulder.

“What now?” I asked, rubbing circles into her back.

“For now, we rest and pack. Tomorrow, we act. My little experiment proves that the armory is open to us. I’ll go snag a couple choice items and then we make our escape.”

“Helal, I’m scared.”

Freezing, she stiffened in my arms.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, holding her at arm’s length, staring with worry.

“I don’t know that you’ve ever said my name before. It was just a little odd, that’s all. Good odd, not bad,” she reassured. Hesitating, she took a moment to come to a decision. “Actually, Helal’s not my given name. My full name is actually Lucifer Helal Morningstar.”

My eyes were the size of saucers.

“What? I didn’t think that would be a big deal,” she said, obviously confused by my reaction.

Does she not know the stories? It can’t be a coincidence especially considering my own secret.

“No, it’s just that, what are the odds? My name isn’t El either. My name is Lilith Eden Dunmore.”

“Lilith huh?” She showed no recognition of the name.

“Please don’t call me that, Lucifer.” Narrowing my eyes, I frowned at her.

“I have no problem being called that, Lilith,” she said playfully, booping me on the nose.

“I’m serious, I have some… unpleasant memories associated with that name. elementary school is such a formative time and kids can be quite vicious when they want to be.

Helal sobered up, and apologized by knocking her forehead to mine. “Alright. I have no problem with that. Besides, calling you anything other than El would just feel weird. Now, why don’t you take a bath while I prepare our things.”

Squeaky clean and swaddled in the same robe as my first night, I dried my long hair with the a fluffy towel. Helal was already in bed, a packed black duffel bag was set along the wall, presumably containing our necessary clothes and gear.

“Get in here.” Helal held open the comforter, revealing her creamy golden skin in the dimmed lamplight. I disrobed and snuggled into her warmth. Her heartbeat was slow and steady, calming me with it metronomic beat. The locks of my hair were brushed with strong fingers. The last thing I remember was a delicate kiss on the top of my head.

Helal’s voice roused me from my sleep. “El… El. It’s time to go.”

“Are you going to go get the… artifact that you need?” I asked blearily.

“Not exactly.” She bobbed her eyebrows patting a sturdy looking backpack while she did.

“What do you mean?” Rising to my feet, I tried to figure out what she was saying.

Underwear first. Then pants. I had no idea boobs would be this bouncy.

Chuckling at my struggles to get dressed, Helal pulled a familiar wooden orb from the backpack.

“Isn’t that what you showed me in the scrying bowl?” I asked while I pulled a shirt over my head. It was very odd to look down and see my expanded bust. I had a moment of almost nostalgia for my breast wrap, uncomfortable though it had been.

“Yep. And our ticket out of here. I thought it would be mean to leave you to worry so I snuck out while you’re asleep.” She tossed the magical artifact into the air, catching it smoothly with her other hand. “What do you say babe? Ready to travel the planes with me?”

“Forever? I’m not sure I’m ready for that,” I said worriedly, concerned with the idea of abandoning everything I knew. Again.

“I’m sure we can figure it out. We’ll have each other, El. We’ll be unstoppable.” Her eyes flashed gold and a conjured tongue licked the rim of my ear, making me giggle.

“Alright already. You’ve convinced me. I am convinced. Wherever you lead, I’ll follow La,” I said.

“La?”

“You don’t like it?” I asked with a small voice.

“I didn’t say that. La? La. La La La. I kind of like it. Like a song.” Hugging me close, she planted a kiss on the tip of my nose.

Her approval made my insides do a happy little dance. I had to wriggle out of her embrace to don my shoes. My violet black hair flopped in front of my eyes, and I blew it out of the way with an exasperated breath.

“Here, let me.” Helal adroitly pulled the wayward strands into a tight ponytail, securing it back with a hair tie.

I took a large breath, releasing it slowly. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be La. What do I have to do?”

“Just stand there and look pretty? I’ll handle the rest,” she said with a jaunty wink. She captured my fingers with her own, lacing them together. The air came alive with magic, Helal’s brown eyes flashed gold, the orb began to levitate from her palm, runes lighting up with brilliant white light that painted distorted symbols on the cloth walls of the tent. With a heavy thrum, an oblong oval rent the air asunder. It was like staring into a clear winter sky, nothing but twinkling stars against a backdrop of spilled ink.

Without ceremony, Helal scooped the prepared duffel bag and tossed it through the portal. There was no sound of the bag’s passing, one moment it was there the next it was gone.

Gulp.

“Don’t look so scared. I’ve done this loads of times. Trust me. Everything will be fine.” She said it with such conviction that I had no choice but to believe her.

Bolstered by her words, I nodded my head.

“This is gonna be fun. No more paperwork,” she cried joyfully, charging forward into the unknown, drawing me forward by our linked fingers. With those suitably weighty words, the portal swallowed me whole.

THE END